A home's price and it's appearance are of absolute paramount importance.

The real estate market is a price war and a beauty contest. In order to get a contract, home sellers need to win both.

In today’s market, prospective home buyers have a multitude of options available to them. As such, they feel minimal urgency in presenting a purchase offer on a home as it is their perception that the house they are enamored with: (a) is not likely to sell soon and (b) there will be like kind alternatives available to them in the event that it does sell.

As a result of this mindset, marketing times (expressed in days on market) have become extended. Also, there has been downward pressure on pricing.

To be an effective seller in ths market, it is advisable to price your home at a pricing level which will elicit a "wow" response form the market.

Whenever a house is sold, it is actually sold three times. First, it sells to the realtors. If they are not excited about the house and price, they are not as enthusiastic about promoting it to their buyer client base. Second, it needs to sell to a buyer. Third, it needs to sell to the lender by way of their appraiser. If it doesn’t;t appraise out, the seller may need to start the marketing process over.

Anything other than a "wow" price, results in a "ho hum" response from the market.

Beyond pricing, a home must have an appearance that is clean, well-maintained, light, airy and just plain beautiful. These days, that can been achieved by counsel from an experienced realtor as well as a professional stager.

A recognized local real estate appraiser, Chip Wagner of Wagner Appraisal writes:

LOOKS RIGHT AND PRICED RIGHT

The oversupply of inventory makes it very difficult for homeowners to sell their home. Many agents are telling me there are more buyers active right now as we are enter our Spring market, yet it remains a challenge. The buyers have many residences to look at. Homes are still selling – but unfortunately the types of homes appear to fall into two major categories: Looks Right and Priced Right, everything else in between is sitting unsold.

The houses that Look Right are those that stand out above the competition. They have positive attributes that their competitors cannot match. This may include Location/Site features such as a cul-de-sac lot with reduced front yard traffic, or a view of the park or Forest Preserve. It could also include homes that have been remodeled that stand out above its competition; e.g., adding trendy features such as granite countertops and stainless steel appliances to the kitchen. Or it could be about the impeccable condition of the property with brand new carpeting, recently refinished flooring and a fresh coat of neutral paint.

Good interior staging is going a long way to make the home show the best that it possibly can. The homes that look right are being purchased, those that have a couple of faults here and there, are being overlooked and sitting on the market. This is exactly what happens when there is an oversupply and it is a Buyers Market.

The houses that are Priced Right are also getting a lot of attention. These are the homes that are sometimes called ‘short sales,’ or ‘quick sales.’ They might be properties where a seller has to sell because of a job transfer or a job loss. They could be properties in pre-foreclosure where the owner is distressed to get out of the property before they must turn the keys over to the bank. It could be a corporate-owned home, either by a bank, or a corporation who moved their transferee. These are some of the most motivated sellers on the block.

Or, it could be the builder who is willing to ‘wheel and deal’ and give away the spec home at an
unbelievably low price, just to keep their sub’s paid, and able to work on that next home. I recently met a transferee who could not sell his home which was priced under the market at $325,000 when all of the comparable homes were over $350,000. He told me the feedback received was that people are choosing new construction of more expensive homes – of homes originally priced $400,000 to $450,000 that builders were selling for $350,000 with the discounts and concessions. It remains a difficult resale market in areas where sellers are competing with builders.

With residential mortgage rates at favorable rates, most lenders have tightened their lending practices, making it more difficult for even the most qualified buyers to purchase a home. It appears to be more difficult to get a loan right now than in the recent past. Many of the “fence-sitters” continue to sit back and wait for the market to hit rock-bottom, or wait for that home that either looks right or is priced right.

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